Mark Cantrell
President & Chief Executive Officer
- Mark Cantrell joined the Colorado Symphony as the President and CEO in May 2023
- Previously served as CEO of The Florida Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra
Mark Cantrell (he/him) was named CEO of the Colorado Symphony on May 8, 2023. He previously served as President and CEO of The Florida Orchestra from January 2019 until May 2023, navigating the orchestra through the COVID-19 pandemic while taking the orchestra from years of structural deficits to a surplus. During his tenure, he also increased public funding sources and significantly strengthened the TFO’s presence in the community. During his time as CEO of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra from September 2013 to January 2019, he is also credited with substantially growing their audience and erasing the orchestra’s debt. Cantrell previously served as executive director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, personnel manager for the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and a bass trombonist for the Boston Pops, Boston Ballet, and Boston Lyric Opera, among others. He also was an adjunct professor of music at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts. His career path has also been marked by bold risk-taking. In the 1990s, he led a team of 16 sled dogs in 300-mile races in New England. In 2006, Cantrell followed his lifelong dream and became an airline pilot for several years before turning his pursuits to orchestral leadership.